Assessing ELL Content Knowledge

Trish Morita Mullaney, ABD,
MSD Lawrence Township, Indianapolis, IN
Susan R. Adams, ABD,
College of Education, Butler University, Indianapolis, IN

TESOL 2011
New Orleans, LA
March 16, 2011
Copyright Morita‐Mullaney, T. & Adams, S.R. (TESOL, 2011)

Identities concealed to protect the guilty

Standards‐based Assessment or Criterion‐
referenced Assessment
(e.g. state standardized
assessments, ACT)
Students demonstrate mastery of explicit
domains, often with a cut‐score, dividing 2‐
digit numbers with 80% correct, no
comparison)

In our state, students score Pass, Pass Plus or
Did not PassCopyright Morita‐Mullaney, T. & Adams, S.R. (TESOL, 2011)

Norm‐referenced Assessment (SAT, GRE,)
Students are compared to the performance of
peers. There is no passing or failing.
Think Bell Curve. Think percentiles.


Ipsative Assessment (bonus points if you
know this one!) (e.g. physical education,
individual assessments, video games
Student is compared to his own previous
performance and is encouraged to “beat” his
own score to show improvement.


Teacher‐created Assessments
Quizzes, tests, projects,
assignments

Performance‐based Assessments
Skills tests, presentations, demonstrations

Portfolio Assessments
Exemplars of peak performance on a variety of student
work collected and displayed in a
physical or digital site

When the cook tastes the soup,
that's formative.
When the guests taste the soup,
that's summative*
This is frequently where educators are satisfied to stop,
but for ELLs, assessment is much more complicated.

*Quote by Robert Stake in Scriven, M. (1991). Evaluation thesaurus. 4th ed. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.


Our working definition of authentic assessment of ELL
learning emerges from the root word,
assess:
Assidēre (Latin) to sit beside someone.
This evolved into the idea of sitting beside a judge to
help him in his deliberations
(especially in determining
property values or
calculating fines
or taxes to be paid).
Source: Word‐Origins.com

1) ESL teachers discussing standards
Consider knowledge base of ESL teachers’
understanding of standards
2) Content area teacher
Naming & Connecting: Significant for transformation &
change
3) ESL teacher
Content and English
4) Student work
Product: What do students show and how do they
understand it?

Content Curriculum offered to students
Process How content is instructed
Product What teachers ask students to produce
Distinguish between production and reproduction.
When students produce, how do you know they really
understand?

Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD.


How might ESL teachers use the notion
of assidēre to develop
authentic assessment practices that
distinguish
what ELLs know and can do from their
ability to communicate their
learning in English?

Together, think of an example you
have seen of a student’s content
knowledge or skill
being assessed by her/his ability to
demonstrate that knowledge or skill
in English.


What content knowledge or skill does this ELL
student demonstrate?

How do you know?


CONTENT ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE
KNOWLEDGE OR SKILLS IN ENGLISH
I em playing basketball. I love to play
basketball. I just shoot. I like to play
ugest my bruthr.
Sum times I win. Sum times he plays ese.
My bruthr tot me to play basketball he
told me that
wen you stop grebling you cant start to
grebling again.
I am playing basketball. I love to play
basketball. I just shoot. I like to play
against my
brother. Sometimes I win. Sometimes he
plays easy. My brother taught me to
play basketball.
He told me that when you stop dribbling
you can’t start dribbling again.


CONTENT ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE
KNOWLEDGE OR SKILLS IN ENGLISH
Test Question: Explain how to
use a microscope properly.
Include details such as the
process of creating,
inserting and examining
slides correctly.


What observational knowledge do we have of
student mastery?
How might we document student mastery of
content area standards?
How might we keep records of student
learning and performance?
Under what conditions do ELLs show us what
they know and can do?
What don’t mainstream teachers know
about ELL content knowledge and skill
mastery?

TRADITIONAL TEST ESL TEACHER EVIDENCE OF MEETING
RESULTS CONTENT AREA STANDARDS


Success breeds success: students who get acknowledgment of
skills and knowledge are encouraged and are motivated to keep
trying. Failure breeds dropout: students who receive an F in the
first 9 weeks of high school are much more likely to drop out of
high school.
What the research says about immigrant youth and dropping out of high school:
“Dropouts' school grades were lower than those of continuing students, and
those that were ever held back in school had higher dropout rates.” p. 866

“Each one‐letter improvement in GPA in middle school lowered the chances
of dropping out in freshman or sophomore year by almost half. Having been
held back a grade prior to high school was associated with a much higher risk
of early dropout.” p. 869
“Risk of High School Dropout among Immigrant and Native Hispanic Youth,” Anne K. Driscoll
Source: International Migration Review, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Winter, 1999), pp. 857‐875
Published by: The Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2547355

Create instruction that enhances content area
mastery WHILE students acquire academic English
Collect convincing evidence of student skills and
conceptual understandings.
Cooperate with mainstream teachers to support
innovative alternative assessments.
Collaborate with teachers and administrators to
evaluate each child’s learning coherently from an
asset‐based perspective with a view to long‐term
success instead of short‐term failure.

Trish Morita Mullaney
patriciamorita@msdlt.k12.in.us

Susan R. Adams
sradams@butler.edu


Assessing ELL Content Knowledge

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